New contract in China for the supply of Optical Cables
Milan, 16 March 2000 - State Power Corporation, the national utility company of China, awarded Pirelli Cables and Systems with the largest OPGW (Optical Power Ground Wire) contract ever signed in this country. The Chinese energy operator has selected Pirelli as the supplier of OPGW cables for the 3-Gorges 500kV transmission link project, the largest Chinese hydro-power infrastructure project. The signing ceremony took place today at 10.00am in Beijing, at the State Power Corporation headquarters.
Pirelli's OPGW cables will form a nearly 1,000kms high-capacity backbone route dedicated to the communication flow management of the 3-Gorges dam system project. The cables will be integrated to the overhead power transmission line - part of which will be crossing the Yangtze river - linking the 3-Gorges dam area (near Wuhan) to Changzhou, in the Jiangsu province. The data exchange between the main control stations of this vital power and water supply network will thus be guaranteed by Pirelli's state-of-the-art optical technology.
The OPGW cables for State Power Corp. will be manufactured by Pirelli Spain in the factories of Villanova y la Geltr, near Barcelona. Pirelli will start delivering the cables at the end of this year and will complete the supply in early 2001.
The breakthrough contract introduces Pirelli's highly competitive Optical Power Ground Wire cable into China, at a time of remarkable network development in this vast country. " A new achievement that confirms Pirelli as the OPGW market share leader in China" says Giuseppe Morchio, Chairman and CEO of Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi " and, at the same time, represents the further strengthening of a leadership recently outlined by the 150,000kms fiber optic cable supply awarded to Pirelli by China NetCom Corporation Ltd" . With the recent acquisition of the BICC energy activities, including the production facilty in Baoying near Shanghai, Pirelli is also expanding its productive presence in the Chinese key market. A productive presence offering Pirelli the opportunity to participate in the future development of the Chinese power network.
For more info on Pirelli Cables and Systems, please visit: www.pirelli.com